Citizens On Patrol Week in Manitoba kicked off with a conference in Winnipeg over the weekend.

Rose from COPP in Portage says 8 members of their group were at the weekend conference, with 150 people attending in all. She says it was a big night for Portage COPP, and a very important member.

"Every year the Citizens on Patrol awards a Manitoba Law Enforcement Outstanding Service Award to a deserving Liaison. There's 50 groups in Manitoba, and we nominated our Liaison Constable Sean O'Keefe and he won the award."

O'Keefe shares his thoughts.

"We have a wonderful group here in Portage. They're very active in our community, making sure they're out being the eyes and ears of the police when we can't be everywhere at once. I've got the great fortune of being the Liaison Officer here. It's a privilege to work with dedicated citizens here in Portage, and I take great pride in being associated with the group, it's very nice to be recognized."

Rose outlines the group's weekend.

"There were 8 COPP members that attended that conference in Winnipeg. It was a very full weekend -- we had some guest speakers Saturday morning and they took us for a tour of 'D' Division which was very interesting. Saturday night we had a banquet and awards night. It was attended by 155 people, and it was very good."

COPP was out last night in Portage la Prairie helping keep trick-or-treaters safe.